Bullet-proof abhor



T. DE DRAGIC AND AI SCHWARZ. BULLET PROOF ARMOR.

APPLICATION FILED III/In. 26, 1920.

1,398,582, PaIenIedNov.29,1921.-

@l @7g-Zr III TUI 10 III Y fas a UfNiTEo' STATES rnnonoan 'ne Duero-emanan scnwnnz, or Naw YomnN. Y., Ass'IeNons 'ro i u. s. moaconroanrron, or NEW Yoax, -N. Y., A conronArIoN or NEW Yonx.

u BULLET-racer mon. i

To all lwhom t concern.' A i? c Be it known that we, THEoDoRE DE DRAGIC and ALBERT SCHWARZ', both subjects of the Kfin of Servia, and residents of the borough o York, have; invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bullet-Proof Armor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates tobullet proof armor. The invention is especially useful in bullet proof armor to be worn on the body.

Various kinds of armor to be worn on the body, 'including bullet proof armor, have been proposed from time to time, but a study of the matter and our experience with bullet proof armor has taught usthat wherever such armor has been made reliably bullet proof, it has comprisedl so much' material that it was intolerably heavy and `bulky to be worn as a part of an already heavy equipment, or to permit the freeuse of the-body in fighting, and where it .has .been made light and compact enough to permit it to be carried as a part of a soldiers equipment, lit hlas not been sufficiently nexible and reiab e.

Bullet proof armor Afor a soldier must be suciently compact and flexible so that itr will not interfere with his other equipment that he mustcarry and use in marching and l fighting, andmust not unduly interfere with hls agility or the free use of his body or arms in fighting; and it must be suiiciently light so that it will iot overtax him and thus cut down his endurance in fighting; and the same is true--at least to a large extent-of bullet proof armor to be worn by policemen in riot work andthe like. While they have not marching to'contend with, they are frequently brought into closer rough and tumble fighting, and must be able to freely use their arms and weapons and give chase whennecessary, even in a manner that a soldier is not called upon to do. So that it becomes essential for albullet proof armor tol be worn on the body for such uses, that it shall be of minimum weight compatible with a safe margin as-'to its bullet proof qualities. Y

The object ofour invention lsvto provide a reliable, thoroughly bullet proof armor to A be worn on thefbody, which is amply light and exible enough to be used b soldiers and policemen wlth'out u'nduly vurdening them with weight, and` without impeding Specification o! Letters Patent. ,Application led lax-oh 26, 1920. Serial No. 868,818.

anhattan, county and State of Newtheir'free body. movements and agility in lfighting.

The invention consists in the novelfeatures, arrangements and construction of parts hereinafter described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof, and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Referring to the drawings- Figure 1 shows a front view of a mans body having our preferred form of bullet proof armor. iittedthereto;

Fig. 2 is a back view of the same;

*PATENT oFl-lcE/f l Patented Nomea, 1921.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view takenv on line 3-3 of ig. 1, with certain parts broken away an the armor plates removed for the sake ofclear illustration;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged face view of a series of pockets containing armor, with a part` of one of the retaining pockets broken away to show the interior construction; y

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view taken on line 5`5 of Fig. 4, with certain parts broken away; and

Fig. 6 is a front view similar to that of Fig. 4, with a part of one of the retaining pockets torn away showing a modied form of armor plate.

Y Referring to the drawings, the complete armor jacket or form consists of a series of envelops .1, 2, 3, each carrying a suitable bullet proof armor and secured preferably at their fupper edges only, as shown at 4 (Fig. 1) to a sheet of iexible material 5 (see Fig. 3) suspendedfrom the shoulders by 'stra s 6 se i connected to a rear envelop 7 exten ing a down the back and alsocontaining armor, Vherelnafter described. To the rear envelop 7 is stitched side protecting envelope 8, 9 to l the front ends of which are secured straps 10, 11 having buckles 12, .13, for buckling the side envelops in across the front.

In order to put on the armor form or jacket, it is only necessary to slip the head between the shoulder straps and buckleV the straps 10 and 11 across the front of the body.

Referring to the arrangement and construction of the envelops 1 2, 3, this is bethere 5 represents i ter illustra' fl in Fig. 3, w i a strip of nexible material, Vpreferably 1n the form of a sheet, of coarse muslin hung down from. the shoulder strap` 6 and'l to` which the envelov s1',f2, 3- are sewnat their upper edges, as s own at14,15, 16. Within ea 1; of these envelope is sewn at the `top thereof, a flexible armor support 17 prefer-` ably made of stron textile fabric, or of a combination of fabrics such as thin felt and coarse muslin stitched together. The envelop 1 is preferably sewed at its top to the armor support 17, and then the Acombined ends are sewed to the flexible support 5 as at '14. To the support 17 in turn is sewed a series of armor-carrying pockets 18 which ma be made of muslin, shown more clearly in igs. 4 and 5 and indicated by shading in'Figs. 1 and 2. The envelops 1, 2, 3 are preferably secured to the .'-ffront support 5 only at their upper portions, so that as the body bends backward or forward, the envelops are free to move one wlth respect to the other, the lower end of one sllding over the other or swinging out therefrom, according to themovements of the body, so as to give the utmost feedom of movement of the bod In this way also the parts may be rea 'ily put together. The successive envelops voverlap just suiiiciently to 'insure overlapping of the armor so as to prevent the penetration of a bullet 1n between the u per extremity of one envelop and the lower extremity of the next one above 1t. Either the containing envelops, such .for example, as 1, 2, 3, etc., or the indlvidual armor-containing pockets 18, may be made of some moisture-proof material such as oiled linen or the like, in order to protect the armor plates from rusting due to water or perspiration.

Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the individual armor-containing pockets 18 when arranged as shown in thisfigure, are` sewed at their upper ends as at 19, 19', etc.,

to the flexible armor support 17, which inthis case is shown as consisting of a thin layer o f felt 20 and a layer of muslin 21. Each of the individual pockets may be made of muslin, and the pockets are each substantially filled by a sheet of suitable bullet proof armor hereinafter more fully described. The pockets as shown are stitched preferably only along one of their longitudinal edges to the armor support 17 so as to permit free movement of the pockets one with respect to the other with the move- 'ments of the body. The pockets are arranged shingle-like in such'manner as Ato always present at least two thicknesses -of the bullet proof armor at any point. In the case of the back envelop 7, the individual armor containing pockets are arranged invertical alinement one above another, and are stitched at their upper edges as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. I-n the front envelops 1, 2, 3 and in the side protecting envelops 8 and 9, the individual armor containing pockets are likewise arranged shingle-like one overlapping another, but in this case they are".

arranged in horizontal alinement and are secured along one of their longitudinal edges only so as to allow these envelops as a whole to readily conform to the rounded contour of the chest and sides. It lwill be understood that the individual pockets may be stitched to their support otherwise than at their edges, and lmay be stitched one to another, provided the arrangement is such asV to permit suicient iexibility. But it is far more advantageous to have these armor containing pockets free to move one over the other by securing them lJnly along one of their longitudinal edges.

Referring now to the bullet proof armor itself, this may for lcertain purposes consist of any suitable hard thi/n metal useful for bullet rotection, but we prefer to use plates of higii shown at 22 igs. 4 and 5) or to use plates of highly tempered sheet steel woven of strips of relatively narrow thin sheet steel such as shown at 23 in Fig. 5, and in each case, the steel plate, whether solid or woven, is wrapped or padded with suitable layers of textile materlal as for example by bein wrap ed with str1ps of cloth such as sil 24. here the solld sheet steel 22 is used, we prefer to use what is lmo'wn in the trade as wedish 'blue tempered steel or Indiana straw tempered steel, of a .thickness of .02 inches, and we use pieces of this approximately 2 inches wide to place in the pockets, the strips and pockets being of such length as to conform to the shape of the enevlops to be worn on the different parts of the body. Where the plates are made up from the woven steel strips, we prefer to use the same steel but of a thickness of only .O12 inches and in such case to either place two of the wrapped plates in each pocket or else always use two pockets together side by side instead of one, such as is shown in Fig. 6. We prefer to wrap the Steel plates to such an extent that the total thickness of the entire bullet proof armor-4I. e., the wrap ed plate, is about of an inch. Where silk is used as the wrapping instead of other cloth such as drill or muslin, the thicknessneed not be so great, because the silk is more efficacious, when used in conjunction with the steel plate, in preventing penetration of the bulet, than 1s the case with cloth that does not present a slippery or so-called frictionless surface which seems to have the eifect of turning or diverting the course of the bullet upon contact therewith.' i

The suspending of the armor plate in individual pockets so that the layers of armor.

ly tem ered thin sheet steel such as.

Lacasse 'A obtained without having tei-*provideA thick to the .armor support 17. The indlvidualj 1nserted,as shown at 25. The armor soft paddin between'the two plates.' We

have also ound that. the-'two layersof woven steel `plate for a given wei ht are. more eiiicacious or bullet-,resisting t an,the

' solid sheet of steel plate.

.In making upthe bullet proof armor, @we take thepieces of steelandwr'a them back andI -forth with the silkfor ot er fsuitable cloth, as stated, untilv the'` desired thickness is obtained, and v'then-f, these; wrap d`l plates are vinserted in the ends -of they individual pockets which prefe'rably'were already sewn pockets are made by simply looping over vthe cloth4 and then stitching the vlooped ends tol the sup rt 17, lea' one ror both" ends of the' poc et open ,for t e insertion ofthe vdeem it advisable to utilize three layers orthicknesses for use against' high-powered army rifles. y t

The armor jacket when made up complete, including front, back and side protectin envelops, as shown and described, lusing sil wrapping, weighs'only about 11 pounds, and is therefore suiiciently light to be utilized by soldiers and policemen.

While, for the sakelof those Skilled in the art, we have described our invention in great v detail in connection with what we now believe to be the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding our invention, that various features of construction and relative arrangement and location of theparts may be made, and that certain features or parts may beutilized without others, without departing from the spirit or scope of our invention, and we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves other than as indicated in the appended claims;

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a bullet proof shield, the combination of a {ieXible support, and bullet proof armor consisting entirely of plates of highly temered thln sheetmetal wrapped with textile abric as the bullet resisting members, the said wrapped platesbeing each independently and iiexibly secured to the support, .and being arranged in shingle-like overlapping relation one with another.

.2. Ina bullet proofshield, the combinain f afaexiblasupporta and v platea of t of thm sheet steel, and `d with a num- If/ber of layers of -the said wrapped p ateseaeh pocketindividually 'secured tothe support so as to have substantial ntovenaart` with respect to 1 1 the support'and to eachother, and the pork with another. s

tion of a' flexible.A armor support, plates '0f lhighl tempered sheet steelr wrap ed trans-g .p I' 'i verselyr ywith "strips offiexible abra-fthe wrapping layers overl'pping one another along the length ofthe the stri s be arranged'in overlapping or shingle relatlomone l' withV fanother, and a t y tempered sheet-steel woven o fstrips.

.indivl ual pockets for ets being arranged in shingled relationpone i 'A 3. In a, bulletprooffs'hielithe combina-W ,18h Y i aktes to form a plu- A rality of 1ayersthe` sai wrapped 'plates be; ing each QXibly secured to the support, and

Hexible "inclosing envelop u:for the support and lates.-

ets made of iiexible material and covering said support and secured `thereto at but 'one of their edges and'arranged shingle-like one overlapping another, and in each pocket a plate of highly tempered thin sheet steel and` one or morelayers of textile fabric, said layers of fabric and sheet steel as assembled in the overlapping pockets,forminga pro- 4. :nl a/ bullet' proof` shield, the combinai' tion of an armor support, a series of pock` ble fabric and individually secured to the 1 support and arranged shingle-like one overlapping -another so as to have substantial free movement with respect to the said sup- 1 port, and in each of said pockets a plate ofv thin highly tempered sheet steel wrapped` with textilefabria said plates substantially filling the pockets and thev pockets serving to suppotrandprptet the wrapped plates.

`6. In a bulletproof shield, the combination of a flexible armor support, a series of i sockets covering the same and made of iexif le material and secured to the support and' 'arranged shingle-like one overlappin an' otlnerLand in ,each pocket a plate of highly `tempered thin sheetsteelcovered with-textile fabric, and anV outer envelop off textile l fabric inclosing said support yand pockets.

7. In a bullet proof shield, 'the combination of a flexible support adapted to' extend down the front of the body of ,flexible armor-inclosing envelo s secured to the support at their upper en one below Ythe other, each enve op containing a .flexible'armor support havlng a series of a pluralityoverlapping pockets thereon-arranged shingle-like, and ineach pocket a plate of armor..

8, In a bullet proof shield, the combina.- tion of a flexible support adapted to extend down the front of the body, a. plurality of ilexible armor-inclosing envelos secured to the support at their upper e'n one below the other, so as to move freely one with respeet to another with the movements of the body, in each envelop a flexible armor support having a series of overlappin pockets thereon arranged shingle-like, an in each pocket a' plate of woven highly tempered thin sheet steel wrapped with textile fabric.

9. In a bullet proof shield, the combination of a flexible support adapted to extend down the front of the body, a, plurality of flexible armor-inclosing envelops secured to the support at their upper ends, onebelow the other, each envelop containing a series of overlapping ockets therein arranged shingle-likev and 1n each pocket a, plate of K armor, a second armor sulpport adapted to extend down the back of t e body and comprisinan outer envelop oontaimng a series of poc ets arranged horizontally and overlap ing one another shingle-like vertically an each having a plate of armor therein, and side members extending between said front and back supports and flexibly connected to each and comprising envelo having pockets arranged therein vertice y and overlapping each other `shingle-like horizontally, and in each pocket a plaie of ermor, sald respective plates overlapping each other. A o

' In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this s 'fieatiom i T EODORE DE DRAGIC. ALBERT SCHWARZ. 

